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EDITOR IN CHIEF- ABDULLAH BIN SALIM AL SHUEILI

Boris Johnson hits more turmoil

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LONDON: A British minister and longstanding critic of Boris Johnson quit on Monday, the latest resignation before the presumed new prime minister takes office with a “do or die” pledge to leave the European Union with or without a deal.


The resignation of Alan Duncan, a junior foreign office minister, underlines the strength of feeling in the governing Conservative Party and parliament against a no-deal Brexit that many businesses say would be catastrophic for the economy.


Attempting to launch a pre-emptive strike against Johnson, Duncan also tried to force an emergency vote in parliament on Tuesday to test whether the new premier could command a majority. Parliament’s speaker turned the request down, the BBC reported.


Stalling economic growth — the National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR) said on Monday there was a one-in-four chance Britain has already tipped into recession — is fuelling many lawmakers’ worries about a no-deal Brexit.


Duncan follows Margot James, who stepped down as a culture minister last week, describing as “quite incredible” Johnson’s promise to leave the EU by October 31 regardless of whether a deal is in place to smooth its departure.


On Sunday, finance minister Philip Hammond also said he would resign rather than be sacked by Johnson, promising to fight with others in parliament to stop a rupture in relations with the EU, the country’s biggest trading partner.


In his resignation letter to outgoing Prime Minister Theresa May, Duncan said: “The UK does so much good in the world. It is tragic that just when we could have been the dominant intellectual and political force throughout Europe, and beyond, we have had to spend every day working beneath the dark cloud of Brexit.” He pointedly noted that he had worked with “two very different foreign secretaries” — Johnson and his rival to become prime minister, Jeremy Hunt.


Later, he applied for an emergency debate to see whether parliament had “considered the merits of the newly chosen leader of the Conservative Party and supports his wish to form a government”. But the speaker’s refusal meant his attempt to test the new prime minister’s popularity failed.


— dpa


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